Bonus of clogging at a local event over a holiday weekend: Former team members are likely to be home visiting and you get to catch up! With a (very) little coaxing, you can even get them on the dance floor! Yep, a person can trade clogging for other hobbies or life pursuits, but those double toes are still there...

I showed up at the Red, White, & Blue Festival in Seaman, OH to find teammate Molly happily chatting with another teen. Turns out, Harley is a school friend of my teammate, but she moved away a couple years ago. Harley used to dance with another local clogging team. I told her to jump in for Cotton-Eyed Joe, and mine was at least the third invitation she had received to do so. (She did get up and did a fine job of clogging with us. It was nice to meet you, Harley!)

A familiar face soon appeared: Veronica! Grown up and gone off to college, she was attending the holiday festivities with her family. Veronica was not really given an option - she was informed that she was dancing Cotton-Eyed Joe. (She joined another dance or two voluntarily, ha-ha.)

A third former clogger showed up: Mary Grace! She danced with us as a little girl, but pursued other interests (including drama club) when she got older. We thoroughly enjoyed her performance in the high school musical this year! Mary Grace is now a high school graduate! Where does the time go?! She kicked off her shoes and danced Cotton-Eyed Joe barefoot in the street!

Michaela was a happy surprise! She's been on our injured reserve list as she recovers from surgery. We thought she was there to watch her brother and cousins dance, but Michaela managed to show off some fancy footwork of her own! We look forward to her full return to dance class once the surgeon gives the okay!

The rain even held off for our show! Fancy Free Cloggers had a great holiday, and we hope your team did, too!